Cleaning for fun on the weekends is rarely on the wish list, unless the spirit of Sheldom Cooper (“The Big Bang Theory”) or Marie Kondo has possessed you.
As a rule, people would rather go out with their friends, go to a restaurant, ride a bike in nature or have a picnic by the pool. Everything rather than spending our free time to make the house sparkling clean.
To ensure that cleaning your home does not take more time than necessary, it is important to incorporate routines to have a clean and tidy house with the least amount of effort. In this sense, planning is essential, because by organizing your cleaning in advance and at a certain frequency, you will get the desired result in less time. Of course, since miracles don't exist, you have to dedicate a little time every day.
To start, it's important to know what tasks you need to do around the house to keep your spaces clean and tidy, and warm and inviting. Simply write down a strategy of weekly tasks and a daily one, simplifying these tasks as much as possible until they become a habit. How do you do this? By making realistic lists with specific times for each task, you can better control the tasks.
Monday to Friday tasks
Divide the tasks from Monday to Friday so that you are clear on what you have to do and divide the work so that you are not too overwhelmed. Plus, on the weekends, you'll only have one or two things to tidy up or clean up, and you can spend the rest of the time doing what you love most.
Scheduling your tasks Monday through Friday will free you up on the weekends.
Some tasks need to be done every day or two, others every week or even every couple of months (such as changing the clothes in the closets). Most of the daily tasks are basic and, once you internalize them as a habit, they will no longer be a problem in your daily organization. Examples include making the bed or keeping each room tidy.
The bathroom and kitchen are the most used spaces in a house, so it will be necessary to clean and keep them in order almost continuously. Dedicate two days a week to cleaning the bathroom. Start with the toilet, then the bidet (if you have one), the shower or bathtub, the sink and mirror, and finish by scrubbing the floor. Don't forget to remove any lime residue to prevent it from building up.
Dedicate two days a week to cleaning the kitchen as well. One of these days should be devoted to a thorough cleaning of the countertop, cooktop, sink, cabinet exteriors and floor, and the other to a thorough cleaning of an appliance, whether it's the washing machine, oven and microwave, dishwasher or extractor fan.
Organize the week's meals
Similarly, organizing lunches and dinners is important. If you like to be proactive, practice “batch cooking” – devote one day a week to listing, planning and preparing meals for the entire week.
Read more. Dust a different room in the house every day and get into the habit of vacuuming or sweeping the same room. Before doing so, open the windows and air out. Once the windows are closed and the dust has settled, clean from top to bottom, then vacuum the floor, carpets and sofas. If you use a robot vacuum, you'll notice that the dust particles are less noisy.
As far as the washing machine is concerned, put one machine for white and one for colored laundry every week, although this frequency may vary depending on the members of each family; thus, if you are many, the frequency will be higher. Alternate washing sheets and towels every seven days, as fortnightly is more than enough. Use another day for ironing and another for sorting and folding the laundry.
This routine takes about 45 minutes a day and accomplishes about three household tasks.
To follow this organization, it takes about 45 minutes a day to complete about three daily tasks. Depending on the day and the number of rooms in the house, the daily formula is as follows: dust and floor one room + kitchen/bathroom/laundry.
Summary
My name is Maggie and I'm a writer for thesilverink.com, a website dedicated to news, culture and lifestyle. I have always been passionate about writing and I decided to make it my profession by becoming a web editor. I work on counterpoint.info and I mainly take care of the lifestyle section. I like to share my discoveries and my favorites with the readers, whether it's about fashion, beauty, decoration or gastronomy.
